A year after Melbourne Victory kicked off their A-League Men campaign with a pulsating win over Sydney FC only to crash late in the season, coach Tony Popovic is determined to avoid a similar drop-off.
Like last year's 3-2 triumph, Victory again opened their season by beating Sydney away.
But after Saturday's more controlled 2-0 win, Victory want to kick on in Sunday's home clash with Newcastle.
"What we got wrong last year was the approach," Popovic said.
"Being away from home the first match and you think 'okay, it'll just take care of itself, it will just happen' and I think we've learned some lessons from that last year.
"Looking at the players, the way they've trained this week, it's been very good. They look very focused.
"They want more of the same and we're just talking about improving and us getting better.
"It's only round one, we know that. We'll have to earn that win on Sunday and we feel we're ready and willing to do that."
Daniel Arzani, Nishan Velupillay and Ryan Teague have started, forcing the likes of Jake Brimmer, Chris Ikonomidis and Ben Folami to come off the bench.
"You always want the depth," Popovic said.
"It's something we felt we didn't have last year and that's a credit to the players not just that have come in, but that have grown."
Newcastle head to Melbourne after scoring a dramatic late equaliser in their 2-2 away draw with Perth.
"That's a credit to them. I coached there as well so I know how difficult it is for teams to come to Perth," Popovic said.
"When you go behind twice and you come back twice, it shows some real character and resilience from the group.
"So we know they'll bring that with them."
Suspended sanctions still hang over Victory from last season's derby pitch invasion but there are no restrictions around crowds at AAMI Park on Sunday, bar a tarp over the front three rows of the north end active area.
"There's a weight off the shoulders of everyone within the club but I think a weight off the shoulders for everyone that loves this club, that comes to support the club," Popovic said.
"They feel very positive over some of the decisions that have been made recently from the APL.
"They feel positive about obviously how they saw their team play - and credit to those fans that travelled to Sydney.
"There's a lot of optimism and we want to reward that optimism of our fans and members with another top performance and if we do that I'm sure they can help us and support us to getting another crucial win."
